The Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) has warned that voter ignorance poses a serious threat to credible elections in Nigeria, urging stakeholders to prioritise massive voter education ahead of the 2027 general polls.
Speaking at a citizens’ town hall meeting on electoral reforms in Owerri, Imo State, PAACA’s Executive Director, Ezenwa Nwagwu, stated that most citizens still lack a proper understanding of electoral processes, leaving them vulnerable to manipulation by political actors.
“We must stop treating civic knowledge as optional. People cannot defend their votes if they do not understand the rules or how results are transmitted,” Nwagwu said. “Technology alone will not save our democracy; we need informed participation.” He stressed that innovations such as the Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) were designed to enhance transparency, but would fail if citizens remained unaware of how they worked. Nwagwu also criticised political parties for deploying untrained polling agents who abandon their duty posts mid-election and later blame INEC for irregularities.
Imo State Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Oparaugo Chimezirim, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to civic education. In contrast, security agencies, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Police, echoed the call for more substantial reforms to curb violence and boost election credibility.